Somalia

05/02/2013

Index of most dangerous countries for journalists. (Committee to Protect Journalists)

Nigeria is a new addition to the list of the most dangerous countries in which to be a journalist, joining mainstays such as Pakistan, Somalia and Mexico.

Five journalists in Nigeria have been murdered since 2009. None of the cases have been solved.

“Investigations into these killings are usually carried out with sloppiness, and no real culprits are caught," said Ayode Longe, a senior officer with the Media Rights Agenda, a press freedom group in Nigeria. “That has emboldened others to assault journalists, believing nothing would be done to them."

The global index is released each year by the Committee to Protect Journalists and calculates unsolved journalist murders as a percentage of each country's population.

The index also found soaring impunity rates in Somalia, Pakistan, and Brazil.

The CPJ said conditions for journalists are improving in Nepal and Russia, "although both nations remain dangerous for the press."

The analysis founds increasing anti-press violence in Somalia, Pakistan, and Brazil, where national leaders are unwilling or unable to address the issue. In Somalia, 23 journalist murders have gone unsolved over the past decade.

The CPJ report highlights the cased of Wali Khan Babar, a journalist with Geo TV in Pakistan who was murdered in 2011.

While several suspects connected to one of the country’s leading political parties, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, are facing trial, the prosecution has been hindered by the murders of five people connected to the investigation, including witnesses and police officers.

In November 2012, an eyewitness was gunned down two days before he was due to give testimony, the CPJ said.

Iraq is said to be the most dangerous country in which to be a journalist. Over the past 10 years, there have been 93 unsolved killings of journalists in the country of 33 million. Somalia was ranked No. 2, followed by the Philippines, where 55 journalists have been murdered without any convictions in the country of 94 million.

Rick Westhead is a foreign
affairs writer at the Star. He was based in India as the Star’s South
Asia bureau chief from 2008 until 2011 and reports on
international aid and development. Follow him on Twitter @rwesthead

04/24/2013

A Somali baby receives a polio vaccine at the Medina
Maternal Child Health centre in Mogadishu, Wednesday. On
the eve of the Global Vaccine Summit in Abu Dhabi and coinciding with World
Immunization Week, authorities in Somalia, which has one of the lowest
immunization rates in the world, have launched a new push to vaccinate against
several potentially fatal childhood diseases. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

04/07/2013

At least every few years, the aid world seems to be jolted with the news of an
attack on humanitarian workers.

Last year, four aid workers with the organization Medair were
kidnapped in Afghanistan. A year earlier, two aid workers with Doctors Without
Borders were shot to death in Somalia by a former colleague.

Five years earlier, in 2006, the Sri Lankan government was
accused by Swedish-led monitors of conspiring to kill 17 employees of the aid
agency Action Against Hunger.

A Swedish organization called Civil Rights Defenders has a new
gadget it says may help aid workers who come under fire.

The agency is distributing a bracelet equipped with a GPS
system. When someone activates it, or if the bracelet is pulled off forcefully,
the GPS tracker is activated and will send information about its location.

The bracelet also posts messages to Twitter and Facebook. The
agency says that will make some governments think twice about conspiring to
kidnap aid workers.

Inspired by the case of Natalia Estemirova, who was kidnapped
and killed while documenting human rights abuses in Chechnya in 2009, the group
said it would give out 55 bracelets over the next 18 months.

The group has a link for interested aid workers to sign up for
alerts from the bracelets.

Rick Westhead is a foreign
affairs writer at the Star. He was based in India as the Star’s South
Asia bureau chief from 2008 until 2011 and reports on
international aid and development. Follow him on Twitter @rwesthead

04/04/2013

This photo taken in 2010 shows an armed
Somali piratealong the coast in Hobyo,
northeastern Somalia. (MOHAMED DAHIR/AFP/Getty Images)

Somalia’s fearsome pirates have been in the news a lot in
recent years because of their kidnap and ransom operations off the Somali coast
but they have also spawned another lucrative industry: actors posing as pirates
to western journalists.

The scam works like this: unsuspecting journalists hire a
fixer who agrees to set up the interviews for a price. But the fixer is in cahoots with the
actors. Journalists are sent on a false wild goose chase for days in search for the elusive pirates.

Adan, whose day job is at a restaurant told the network: "They
(journalists) go to the boss and say we need pirates. The boss comes to us and
says the white men need pirates. So he says, 'pretend to be a pirate.'"

He says he earns $200 for each gig. “I depend on myself. I'm
an asset, not a liability."

Osman, who is a Somali, spotted the pirates as implausible
because their accents placed them as Borans, an ethnic group in southern
Ethiopia and northern Kenya. So they aren’t even Somali. One of them hadn’t
even been to Somalia.

Adan told Osman he had no regrets. "You know, western
guys they think the Africans are fools. But we have discovered we are not
fools. We are much cleverer than the western people. We are fooling them, but
they think they are fooling us."

Channel 4 says Time magazine and Danish Broadcasting
Corporation DR have fallen for the scam.

Hamida Ghafour is
a foreign affairs reporter at the Star. She has lived and worked in the Middle
East and Asia for more than 10 years and is the author of a book on
Afghanistan. Follow her on Twitter @HamidaGhafour

03/28/2013

A documentary about the dangers journalists face in war zones has won the prestigious Peabody Award.

Toronto filmmaker Martyn Burke's Under Fire: Journalists in Combat examines how reporting on war has becoming increasingly dangerous over the last 10 to 15 years. Renowned psychiatrist Dr. Anthony Feinstein who treats journalists suffering from the stress of war reporting also worked with Burke. The CBC commissioned the documentary.

Among those interviewed was The Toronto Star's veteran war reporter Paul Watson who talks about the guilt he felt over his photograph of an American soldier's body being dragged through the streets of Mogadishu, Somalia in 1993 which won him a Pulitzer prize.

Watson said: "Martyn Burke has the interviewing skills of a superb psychiatrist. He took me to a dark place where I didn't want to go and anyone who sees the film can see the re-telling was traumatic for me. But I'm glad he took me there. I'm an idealist who believes that if enough people fully grasp the corrosive effect that war has on all of us--whether we're fighting, caught in the middle, merely observing, or feeling safe back home--we'll do more collectively to end war forever."

The Star's national security reporter and author Michelle Shephardwho has spent years reporting from conflict zones including Yemen, Somalia and Kenya was an associate producer.

The Peabodys celebrate some of the world's best journalism and winners were announced on Wednesday at the University of Georgia’s journalism school.

Burke told the CBC: "In some of them (journalists), not all, but some, there is just this level of submerged trauma that just kind of bubbles up. The second thing that surprised me is that in amongst all these people, there's a residual humanity [despite] all the depravity and killing they've seen. I actually liken it to flowers coming out of concrete. You can't keep that humanity down."

Hamida Ghafour is a foreign affairs reporter at the Star. She has lived and worked in the Middle East and Asia for more than 10 years and is author of a book on Afghanistan. Follow her on Twitter @HamidaGhafour

Somalia's Al Qaeda group has diminished in membership and power in the last two years, but a suicide bombing in Mogadishu this week that killed at least 10 civilians, was a devastating reminder that the Shabab still has active members who can reach the capital.

Omar Shafik Hammami and Jehad Serwan Mostafa both reportedly left the U.S. for Somalia in 2006, when a group called the Islamic Courts Union had briefly taken control of Mogadishu. According to the State Department: "Both are wanted for conspiracy to provide
material support to a foreign terrorist organization, which includes
their significant contributions to al Shabaab’s media and military
activities."

The timing of the bounties is curious. Labott quotes an unnamed FBI source stating that the two "had a persistent interest in targeting U.S. interests." But it appears it is not an imminent threat but that the reward is based "on actions (Hammami) has already taken." Hammami is generally not regarded as leader in the group - especially since his very public fallout with the Shabab last year.

Millions in bounties for the Shabab leadership was first offered in June - the greatest reward of $7 million (U.S). for Ahmed Abdi aw-Mohamed Godane, the group's leader, who also goes by the name Mukhtar Abu Zubair. The elusive and influential Ibrahim Haji Jama, also known as Ibrahim al-Afghani (a nickname because of his training in Afghanistan), was also listed.

But it was the Shabab leaders who were not listed that was most intriguing - and the widely-held theory among analysts was that the bounties were less about the bounties themselves and more about the U.S. trying to further divide the leadership. At the time, there was a split between members who believed in Al Qaeda's global aspirations and those who were more Somalia-focused. There were also an effort by the government to get certain leaders to defect. As always in Somalia, clan played a role too.

So why now for the two Americans?

Hamammi is the better known of the two. He is a difficult character to take seriously - an Alabama-born "rapper," with a taste for Tim Hortons, who waxes poetically in the tortured language of jihadists.

He responded the next day on Twitter: "bagel? Canadian feminist humor?"

Then again Wednesday "he" - if @abumamerican is indeed Hammami - was busy again, responding to various national security and foreign policy Twitter types. He seemed eager to compete in Twitter Fight Club (#TFC13.. think, like, nerd online Olympics).

03/15/2013

For gamers: "Muslim Mali," which pits Islamic militants against the French Air Force in Mali is reportedly taking Internet jihadi forums by storm. And hey, it's a win-win, even if you lose, you supposedly get a message that says "Congratulations, you have been martyred." Foreign Policy's National Security Reporter John Hudsontried the game so you don't have to.

What terror roundup is complete without the rantings of one of the most famous American jihadists - Omar Hammami, aka: Abu Amriki. He is the Alabama native who spent a year in Toronto - long enough to fall in love with Tim Hortons - before joining the fight in Somalia. He reportedly communicates through Twitter, although there has been some doubt as to whether it is really him. Lately, his tweets have been about as exciting - and frequent - as the teenager who wants to tell you about the bagel she had at lunch, or when she's off for a mani-pedi.

Don't bother following "him" on Twitter, but watch for analysis by Clint Watts on his blog Selected Wisdom or J.M. Berger at Intelwire. They have the patience to communicate with him and read the tweets. Berger says he is convinced it is Hammami.

Earlier this month, Yemen's Al Qaeda branch released its 10th edition of the English-language "Inspire" magazine. The much-ridiculed publication known as Al Qaeda's Cosmo, follows a similar format from past editions despite a new editorial board, including some self-help hints, such as avoiding getting petrol on yourself when you're torching cars. Now you know.

Sadly though another story continues, and is dominating headlines. Twenty-seven-year old Lul Ali Osman Barake has gone public with her story of rape and the travesty that followed. She says she was not only gang raped by uniformed men but when she reported the crime to police and a local journalist, she was put in jail and sentenced to a year. As the Guardian's David Smith writes in his exclusive interview with Barake, "she has been raped twice: first by a gang of men in military fatigues, then by the judicial system in what is meant to be a liberated Somalia."

"It was on 14 August, she said, that she woke up feeling unwell
at her home constructed from sticks, plastic and metal sheets in one of
the camps for internally displaced persons (IDP) that still scar the
Somali capital. She went to a food distribution point and was approached
by five men in uniform.

"They stopped me, slapped me and blindfolded me," Barake said.

"One
took my hand and I had to follow them inside an empty school. I said
I'm an IDP, I'm getting food to eat, what do you want with me?

"They said nothing. They were angry and they took me.

"They
raped me, one after another, with four standing guard. When all five
had finished, I said please allow me to leave, I'm breastfeeding a baby
and need to get home. They allowed me to go. After I left the area I
fell three or four times. Whenever I walked for 10 metres, I had to sit
and rest."

The verdict against Barake of "defaming a government body and making false accusations" was thankfully overturned earlier this week. "The court has recognized the lady was the real victim," the judge said according to Smith, who added that Barake was present at the hearing with her seven-month-old baby.

And yet a sentence was upheld against the freelance journalist, Abdiaziz Abdinur Ibrahim, who interviewed her. As Human Rights Watch notes, the conviction itself is unclear. Al Jazeera reported one of his charges was "making a false interview, and entering the house of a woman whose husband was not present." Ibrahim was reportedly researching a story on sexual violence and his reports had not yet been published or aired. His sentence of six months was upheld.

There have been so many brave Somali journalists who have lost their lives in the two-decades of fighting, including the Canadian co-founder of HornAfrik (and friend) Ali Sharmarke. There have been so many women who have kept their families alive through years of war and under the hardships of the misogynist rule of Al Qaeda's East African proxy, Al Shabab.

To have women's rights, along with press freedom, challenged now in a time of newfound peace is not the International Women's Day many Somalis had hoped to celebrate.

Michelle Shephard is the Toronto Star's National Security correspondent and author of "Decade of Fear: Reporting from Terrorism's Grey Zone." She is a
three-time recepient of Canada's National Newspaper Award. Follow her on
Twitter @shephardm

02/22/2013

Tip 18 is most entertaining to imagine: "Formation of fake gatherings such as using dolls and statutes to be placed outside false ditches to mislead the enemy."

Al Qaeda . . . setting up a tea party for their dolls in the desert . . . as drones buzz overhead. Thanks to documents found by fleeing militants in Timbuktu, we now know that Al Qaeda had 22 helpful hints like this on how to avoid becoming a drone target.

Not all involved teddy bears and Raggedy Ann, as Associated Press journalist Rukmini Callimachi explains from Timbuktu. Islamic militants reportedly bought bundles of $1.40 grass-woven mats to cover their cars as they fled the ancient city, she writes. Guess glass was harder to come by as Tip 3 recommends: "Spreading the reflective pieces of glass on a car or on the roof of the building."

Recall the salacious details that trickled out selectively after Osama bin Laden was killed - the most feared man in the world was in fact a vainglorious sissy who dyed his beard, downloaded porno and watched reruns of himself while wrapped in a ratty blanket, like a former football star reliving a playoff touchdown.

Counterterrorism analysts and journalists (mea culpa) had a field day with Inspire Magazine, the English magazine of Yemen's Al Qaeda branch until a drone attack killed its American Editorial Board. The terrorist's Cosmopolitan provided environmental tips from bin Laden and "Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of your Mom," by Al Qaeda's "chef."

Michelle Shephard is the Toronto Star's National Security correspondent and author
of "Decade of Fear: Reporting from Terrorism's Grey Zone." She is a
three-time recepient of Canada's National Newspaper Award. Follow her on
Twitter @shephardm

Forget such old school amenities like beachfront, pool, WiFi in your hotel room, these guys are seeking war zones, dictatorships or natural disasters. Their vacations have included Afghanistan, Chechnya, Sudan, and recently, a 48-hour weekend in Mogadishu, or as they call it, "The Mog."

The men may have benefited from first reading the 2006 New York Times story by Jeffrey Gettleman about the "Black Hawk Down" lady and her "tourist" site, before claiming they discovered a piece of the downed Black Hawk from the disastrous 1993 U.S. mission.

But leaving aside the debate about the wisdom of their travels, the article once again raises the question about Somalia's recovery. A recent piece in the Guardian - "Mogadishu is like Manhattan" - reported on the construction boom in the capital. If you want inspiration, watch TedXMogadishu, titled "Rebirth."

Somalia-on-the-mend stories are such welcome news. The battle scarred country and its people have seen enough - have had enough - and there his hope that 2013 is the year that Somalia gives up the number one spot on Foreign Policy Magazine's Failed States Index.

But after two decades of war, rebuilding a capital and a country is going to take time. The Al Qaeda group, Al Shabab, is weak and lost much of its territory and almost all of its support, but still poses a threat and is reportedly regrouping in a "Tora Bora-like" mountaineous region. The high-profile conviction of a woman who alleges she was raped by security forces, and the journalist who wrote about her case, raises serious questions about sexual violence and press freedom. And Jan. 29, at lease two people were killed when a suicide bomber attacked the prime minister's office.There were early reports of a car bombing in central Somalia today.

There is much to celebrate, genuine hope, and the good news is finally outweighing the bad. But Somalia continues to be a complicated country in a complicated region and it may be some time before Mogadishu migrates from Foreign Policy's index to Lonely Planet's "Best in Travel." Unless of course you're Andy and Nigel, that is.

Michelle Shephard is the Toronto Star's National Security correspondent and author of "Decade of Fear: Reporting from Terrorism's Grey Zone." She is a three-time recepient of Canada's National Newspaper Award. Follow her on Twitter @shephardm

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